In April 2013, the World Bank set a new goal to end extreme poverty in a generation. Our target is to have no more than 3 percent of the world’s population living on just $1.25 a day by 2030.
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ChallengeA troubled past, persistent weak governance and civil unrest have resulted in staggering poverty rates in Haiti, very poor access to basic services, and low human development indicators. Data... Show More + availability in the country has been limited due to scarce resources and low capacity in the Haitian Institute of Statistics. As a result, knowledge on living conditions in the country has traditionally been limited. The only poverty rates available in Haiti date back to 2001 when poverty was measured using income and international poverty lines. However, income is widely recognized as a less optimal tool to capture welfare in a context like Haiti. SolutionIn the aftermath of the 2010 earthquake, Haiti sought to conduct a living conditions survey. While part of the sampling work was already finalized by 2010, the survey preparation was delayed due to the disruption of the natural disaster and low capacity of the Government. In February 2012 a new team, supported by the World Bank, took over survey preparations and successfully fielded the survey six months later. Less than a year later, the data was available for data cleaning and the quality was found to be very high, with only a 1.4% non-response rate. This success can be contributed to quality preparatory work, which was supported by World Bank technical assistance to the Government throughout the activity, as well as to the adoption of an innovative use of tablets (instead of normal paper questionnaires) in the survey process. ResultsThe survey in general and the consumption data in particular will allow the establishment of a national poverty line for the country, and a series of baseline indicators to monitor poverty and shared prosperity in the future. The survey has quickly become one of the building blocks of the new poverty monitoring system for Haiti, which in turn is going to become a powerful evidence-based tool for policy-making.Furthermore, the activity was implemented in close collaboration with the Haitian Institute of Statistics. The Institute benefitted from significant technical assistance in survey design and management, including the use of new data entry techniques. Bank Group ContributionThe survey cost almost US$1.7 million to implement. The activity benefitted from several sources of financing including: US$400,000 from the Spanish Fund for Latin America and the Caribbean (SFLAC), which financed the technical assistance involved in the preparatory phase of the survey; US$850,000 from the World Bank’s Infrastructure and Institutions Emergency Recovery Project, which financed most of the survey costs; and US$463,000 from World Bank budget.PartnersSuccessful survey completion was the result of a partnership among three institutions: the Haitian Institute of Statistics (IHSI), the World Bank and DIAL, a French public research center. DIAL additionally contributed US$180,000 to the survey. Moving Forward The next steps to the survey have already been initiated: 1) a second wave of the survey was fielded 8 months after the initial wave; 2) a national poverty line was developed with the Government of Haiti using the data 3) a multi-sectorial poverty assessment was launched based on the new evidence and is scheduled to be delivered in 2015/16.Beneficiaries The direct beneficiary of this project was the IHSI, which benefited from extensive technical assistance and the reliable data resulting from this survey. By extension, the Haitian Government will benefit from this activity, as decision makers will be able to base their policies on sound evidence. Finally, in the long term the people of Haiti will benefit from this activity, particularly if it contributes to a new culture of monitoring and evaluation and evidence-based policy making. Show Less -

Turkey's poverty reduction
performance in the 2000s has been remarkably consistent.
Extreme and moderate poverty have fallen considerably since
2003. Between 2002 a... Show More +nd 2011, extreme poverty fell from 13
percent to 5 percent, while moderate poverty halved from 44
percent to 22 percent (respectively, defined using the World
Bank's Europe and Central Asia regional poverty lines
of 2.5 and 5 USD/PPP). Most of this poverty reduction (89
percent) has been driven by growth, a performance consistent
with most countries in Europe and Central Asia. This is
substantially different form the recent performance of other
regions, such as Latin America, where redistribution
contributed to poverty reduction almost four times more than
in Turkey. Turkey has also achieved sustained consumption
growth of the bottom 40 percent of the population, even
during the years of the world recession. Turkey's
performance in poverty reduction and increased shared
prosperity has been complemented by the systematic expansion
of the middle class by 20 percentage points. This paper
analyzes the main drivers of poverty reduction, shared
prosperity, and changes in inequality in Turkey from 2002 to
2011. The analysis shows that labor markets, demographics,
pensions, and social assistance have played a critical role
in this process. It further explores some of the mechanisms
that have facilitated these changes. Show Less -

After a policy-engineered slowdown in
2012, which saw GDP growth decline to 4.8 percent, the
lowest since 2008, Bhutan's economy is expected to
rebound to 6.5 perce... Show More +nt this year, supported by hydropower
construction and higher electricity and food production,
following favorable rains. The tight fiscal stance
introduced in 2012 has been maintained to bring spending in
line with lower non-hydro revenues and a slowdown in foreign
grant disbursements, but the revenue situation is expected
to improve with the commissioning of cement and electricity
projects. Bhutan's external debt, at 85 percent of GDP,
remains high, but is likely to fall sharply as assured
hydropower revenues begin to flow from projects for which
the external loans were taken. However, its narrow exports
base and the large rupee-reserves mismatch make the country
vulnerable to shortfalls in external earnings and pose a
moderate risk. Bhutan's success in reducing absolute
poverty is noteworthy, with the poverty rate falling from 23
percent in 2007 to 12-13 percent in 2012, improving the lot
of the poorest segments of the population rather than merely
that of those clustered around the poverty line. A rapid
growth of commercial agriculture, expanding rural
infrastructure, and beneficial effects from the construction
of massive hydropower projects has established a sound
platform for further poverty reduction. However, continued
out-migration to urban areas and vulnerability of
infra-marginal groups, the relative absence of formal social
protection institutions, youth unemployment, and the
persistence of malnutrition, anemia and stunting point to
the need for continued effort at tackling non-income
poverty. The macroeconomic projections for 2014 set GDP
growth at 7.3 percent, stemming from new projects, increased
tourism receipts, easier credit conditions and the effects
of the Economic Stimulus Plan. Show Less -

Social welfare functions that assign
weights to individuals based on their income levels can be
used to document the relative importance of growth and
inequality ch... Show More +anges for changes in social welfare. In a large
panel of industrial and developing countries over the past
40 years, most of the cross-country and over-time variation
in changes in social welfare is due to changes in average
incomes. In contrast, the changes in inequality observed
during this period are on average much smaller than changes
in average incomes, are uncorrelated with changes in average
incomes, and have contributed relatively little to changes
in social welfare. Show Less -

The paper explores whether one of the
largest programs in the world for women's empowerment
and rural livelihoods, the Indira Kranti Patham in Andhra
Pradesh, India... Show More +, has had an impact on the economic and social
wellbeing of households that participate in the program. The
analysis usespanel data for 4,250 households from two rounds
of a survey conducted in 2004 and 2008 in five districts.
Propensity score matching was used to construct control
groups and outcomes are compared with
differences-in-differences. There are two major impacts.
First, the Indira Kranti Patham program increased
participants' access to loans, which allowed them to
accumulate some assets (livestock and durables for the
poorest and nonfarm assets for the poor), invest in
education, and increase total expenditures (for the poorest
and poor). Women who participated in the program had more
freedom to go places and were less afraid to disagree with
their husbands; the women participated more in village
meetings and their children were slightly more likely to
attend school. Consistent with the emphasis of the program
on the poor, the impacts were stronger across the board for
the poorest and poor participants and were more pronounced
for long-term Scheduled Tribe participants. No significant
differences are found between participants and
nonparticipants in some maternal and child health
indicators. Second, program participants were significantly
more likely to benefit from various targeted government
programs, most important the National Rural Employment
Guarantee Scheme, but also midday meals in schools, hostels,
and housing programs. This was an important way in which the
program contributed to the improved wellbeing of program
participants. The effects captured by the analysis accrue to
program participants over and above those that may accrue to
all households in program villages. Show Less -

Long-term economic growth is the key
driver for increasing the economic wellbeing of the
population, but the pattern and the incidence of growth also
matter. Econom... Show More +ic growth narrowly based on certain enclave
sectors or benefitting small groups is neither socially
stable nor sustainable. Along these lines, the World Bank
recently revised its institutional strategy, establishing
two goals, namely: (i) ending extreme global poverty, the
traditional goal of the institution, by reducing the
percentage of people living on less than $1.25 a day
globally to 3 percent by 2030, and (ii) promoting shared
prosperity by fostering income growth of the bottom 40
percent of the population. Furthermore, as an overarching
condition, the World Bank aims to achieve those goals in a
way that is environmentally, economically and socially
sustainable to ensure that welfare of the population is not
increased at the expense of future generations or specific
groups in society. This paper presents first insights into
shared prosperity in SEE6 countries. First, it looks at the
incidence of growth in SEE6 in the context of the Europe and
Central Asia region to determine whether economic growth
knowledge gaps are discussed in the paper. The analysis is
limited by the availability of micro-data and thus covers
different periods by country, depending on each one's
most recent data available. Unless otherwise noted, periods
refer to: Albania (2008-2012), Bosnia and Herzegovina
(2007), Kosovo (2006-2011), FYR Macedonia (2003-2008),
Montenegro (2006-2011) and Serbia (2007-2010). Show Less -

This edition of the Middle East and
North Africa (MENA) regional economic update focuses on
recent economic developments and outlines the economic
challenges and op... Show More +portunities facing countries in the region.
The report warns that prospects for a full economic recovery
remain uncertain and underscores the importance of
persisting with reforms. Many countries in Middle East and
North Africa (MENA) will start to benefit from stronger
external demand in the high-income economies, as the global
economy is set for a rebound in 2014. After a marked
slowdown in 2013, a recovery in high income economies is
expected to boost global growth to 3.2 percent in 2014, an
increase by 0.8 percentage points compared to 2013. Global
output is expected to improve further in 2015 with real
gross domestic product (GDP) accelerating to 3.4 percent in
2015. The World Bank estimates that growth in the United
States (U.S.) will increase by 1 percentage point reaching
2.8 percent in 2014 and 2.9 percent in 2015; and the Euro
Zone will improve to 1.1 percent and accelerate to 1.4
percent in 2014 and 2015 respectively, relative to negative
0.4 percent growth in 2013. The growth rebound in the Euro
Zone is largely export led, with Germany and France
continuing to expand at a solid pace, and Spain exiting
recession. The world travel and tourism council estimates
show that tourism revenues will increase by 7 percent in the
MENA region in 2015 relative to 2014. To be sure, the global
recovery is still fragile and downside risks, including
continued low inflation in high-income economies, which can
weaken demand and delay the economic recovery, and the
escalation of conflict in Ukraine remain. This report
presents the short-term, regional macroeconomic outlook, and
economic challenges facing the countries in the MENA region.
In this report, the MENA region is divided into three
subgroups: the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) oil exporters,
developing oil exporters, and oil importers. Show Less -

The 2014 World Bank Group Corporate
Scorecard for the Spring Meetings is designed to provide a
high-level and strategic overview of the World Bank
Group's performan... Show More +ce toward achieving the two goals. It
is the apex from which indicators cascade into the
monitoring frameworks of the three World Bank Group
institutions. The Scorecard is structured in three tiers: 1)
The Goals and Development Context tier provides an overview
of progress on key development challenges faced by World
Bank Group client countries; 2) The Results tier reports on
the key sectoral and multi-sectoral results achieved by
World Bank Group clients with support of World Bank Group
operations in pursuit of the goals; and 3) The Performance
tier captures World Bank Group performance in implementation
of the World Bank Group Strategy and includes measures of
both operational and organizational effectiveness. These
three tiers are the components of a unified results and
performance monitoring framework with indicators grouped
along the result chain as follows: the Scorecard monitors,
at an aggregate level, how the World Bank Group implements
its Strategy and improves its performance (Tier III) in
order to support clients in achieving results (Tier II) in
the context of global development progress (Tier I). The
indicators in the first two tiers are grouped into three
categories encompassing growth, inclusiveness, and
sustainability/resilience. The World Bank Group Strategy
recognizes the importance of each of these three areas for
the achievement of the two goals. Economic growth that
creates good jobs requires action to strengthen both the
private and public sectors. Inclusion entails empowering all
citizens to participate in, and benefit from, the
development process and removing barriers against those who
are often excluded. Sustainability ensures that todays
development progress is not reversed tomorrow; it implies
securing the long-term future of the planet and its
resources, ensuring social inclusion, and limiting the
economic burdens on future generations. Recognizing the
importance the World Bank Group Strategy places on fragility
and gender, Scorecard indicators are disaggregated by gender
and fragile and conflict-affected situations (FCS) when feasible. Show Less -

Compared with the past three years, 2014
seems hopeful and 2015 can be a turning point for Middle
East and North Africa (MENA) countries. After a slowdown in
2013, ... Show More +recovery in high income economies is expected to boost
global growth to 3.2 percent in 2014, an increase of 0.8
percent from 2013. Global output is to improve further in
2015 with real gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3.4
percent. In addition to growth expansion in the United
States, the United Kingdom, as well modest recovery in the
Euro zone countries, global growth will continue to be
driven by growth in developing countries, expected to be
between 5.3 to 5.5 percent in 2014 and 2015 respectively,
led by China and India. Higher global demand is expected to
boost MENA energy and manufactured exports in countries that
have trade linkages with high-income countries. MENA
countries share many structural problems that have prevented
economies from moving to a higher, sustainable growth path.
Fiscal spending in almost all MENA countries is dominated by
a large civil-service wage bill and general subsidies. The
global recovery remains fragile and downside risks,
including continued low inflation in high-income economies,
can weaken demand and delay economic recovery. Show Less -

ISLAMABAD, March 29, 2014 —Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer of the World Bank today met with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to discuss Pakistan’s ongoing economic refo... Show More +rm program, including a stronger focus on private sector involvement and other poverty fighting measures.During her one-day visit, Indrawati also met key cabinet members including the Federal Minister for Finance, Ishaq Dar, and the ministers of water and power, petroleum and natural resources.Indrawati recognized that despite the difficult economic situation the government’s reforms are going into the right direction and are necessary to lead the country on a stable path to recovery.“Pakistan is facing a set of very tough challenges. We see good progress in the pace and quality of the government’s action.” Indrawati said. “The increase in the country’s reserves is a good sign. But what is critical now is to stay focused on the implementation of the reform program and create fiscal space to sustain social protection programs that support the poorest and most vulnerable people.”Successful reviews by the International Monetary Fund and the rapid implementation of initial reform actions are positive signs, Indrawati added, and the World Bank Group stands ready to help Pakistan through lending, private sector involvement and knowledge support. The use of US $1.7 billion from IDA, the World Bank’s fund for the poorest, is part of the Bank’s support to the country. Target areas will be policy reforms in the energy sector, revenue mobilization, governance, social sectors, and investment into hydropower. The World Bank’s engagement in Pakistan will continue to be guided by its principle of selectivity, operational policy, and areas of comparative advantage. Indrawati also welcomed Pakistan's role in regional cooperation, for example on power connectivity with neighboring India, and the recently approved transformative power transmission project, Central Asia-South Asia (CASA1000). The development partnership between the World Bank and Pakistan has entered its seventh decade. More recently, the World Bank's engagement in Pakistan was focused on supporting education outcomes, development of hydropower and strengthening social safety net systems for the poorest and most vulnerable people. The IFC, the Bank Group’s private lending arm, has significantly ramped up its program in Pakistan, especially in the energy sector by mobilizing large international investors to support low cost renewable power generation. It also supports improvements in the overall business environment and works on expanding access to finance for small businesses through capacity building and advisory services. Show Less -

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2014 – The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved budget support to Lagos State of a total of US$200 million in support of reforms pertaining to fiscal sustainabi... Show More +lity, budget planning, budget execution, and the investment climate in Lagos, Nigeria. The first in a proposed series of two development policy operations, it builds upon the policy reforms initiated under a previous Bank supported program.Over the last decade, Lagos State has undertaken a wide range of reforms that have improved governance, reduced crime, and helped to bring millions out of poverty. The goal of this program is to assist Lagos State in sustaining the strong momentum it has achieved in improving public services, facilitating inclusive growth, and reducing poverty. This includes measures to monitor and manage financial risks more effectively, ensure adequate growth in revenues, get better value for money in public expenditures, and improve institutions and processes for land registration and development permits.“Lagos State has sustained rapid growth and achieved what many would not have believed possible, and has managed to reduce its poverty headcount from 57% in 2004 to 23% in 2010” said Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria. “However, it still faces significant challenges going forward in sustaining its economic growth and reducing poverty. This program will provide critical budgetary support to Lagos State to help the government continue key reforms in budgetary planning, execution, and improving the business climate,” she said. The program supports a number of specific measures that aim to increase the returns to budgetary resources in Lagos State, including the implementation of progressive new Procurement and Audit laws, a stronger link of planned budgetary allocations with development priorities, and the rollout of a computerized system that will allow more efficient and transparent financial management. The operation also supports key reforms for the investment climate, particularly in land registration, as well as greater capacity in Lagos State to monitor financial risks.The achievements of Lagos have inspired and boosted the hopes of other States that have initiated similar programs leading to knowledge sharing among them. The program is designed to support Lagos State in its endeavor to sustain its accomplishments,” said John Litwack, Program Task Team Leader and Lead Economist at the World Bank. Show Less -

Anti-Poverty Information PlatformPoverty reduction experts throughout the world will be connected through an online platform in three languages, which will serve to disseminate key initiatives in this... Show More + area. It will also allow for the exchange of ideas and knowledge, in real time, between policymakers and those who implement social programs throughout the world.Mundo Sem Pobreza (https://www.wwp.org.br/en) will also serve as a repository for information and a place where the general public can join in this large-scale conversation about one of the most obstinate problems of the 21st century.“I think it offers an opportunity to accelerate and expand lessons learned in social policy application in Brazil,” said World Bank Country Director for Brazil Deborah Wetzel,.The Institute for Applied Economic Research, the Ministry of Social Development and Hunger Alleviation, the International Policy Centre for Inclusive Growth (IPC-IG) of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the World Bank are supporting this platform. Show Less -

There is a growing recognition of
agriculture's potential to spur growth and reduce
poverty in Africa. Agriculture accounts for one-third of the
continent's gross d... Show More +omestic product (GDP), and
two-thirds of its citizens rely on the sector for their
incomes. Investments in agriculture will hence not only
improve productivity and the continent's ability to
feed a growing population, but will also lift families out
of poverty. Over 90 percent of sub-Saharan Africa's
extreme poor are engaged in agriculture, and growth
originating in the sector is 2-4 times more effective at
directly reducing poverty than growth originating in other
sectors. Yet agriculture in Africa has not fulfilled its
potential, suffering from a lack of investment and
insufficient attention from policy-makers. A key hindrance
to agricultural development and broader growth is a wide and
pervasive gender gap in agricultural productivity. Women
comprise nearly half of the labor force in Africa's
agriculture sector, and more than half in several countries,
but on the whole they produce less per hectare than men.
Existing evidence from small-scale studies across the
continent documents the numerous disadvantages that women
face in accessing the same resources, training, markets and
opportunities as men. They also face ingrained norms and
institutional barriers that further widen the gap. Tackling
the barriers that hold back the productivity of female
farmers could both enhance gender equality and usher in
broader economic growth. The African Union has declared 2014
to be the 'year of agriculture and food security',
bringing much needed attention to the sector's
potential to transform the continent. This is an opportunity
not only to revitalize the agriculture sector, but to rally
African governments and development organizations to commit
to concrete policy action to redress the inequalities within
the sector, and in so doing to reap greater rewards from
future investments. Show Less -

There is a growing recognition of
agriculture's potential to spur growth and reduce
poverty in Africa. Agriculture accounts for one-third of the
continent's gross d... Show More +omestic product (GDP), and
two-thirds of its citizens rely on the sector for their
incomes. Investments in agriculture will hence not only
improve productivity and the continent's ability to
feed a growing population, but will also lift families out
of poverty. Over 90 percent of sub-Saharan Africa's
extreme poor are engaged in agriculture, and growth
originating in the sector is 2-4 times more effective at
directly reducing poverty than growth originating in other
sectors. Yet agriculture in Africa has not fulfilled its
potential, suffering from a lack of investment and
insufficient attention from policy-makers. A key hindrance
to agricultural development and broader growth is a wide and
pervasive gender gap in agricultural productivity. Women
comprise nearly half of the labor force in Africa's
agriculture sector, and more than half in several countries,
but on the whole they produce less per hectare than men.
Existing evidence from small-scale studies across the
continent documents the numerous disadvantages that women
face in accessing the same resources, training, markets and
opportunities as men. They also face ingrained norms and
institutional barriers that further widen the gap. Tackling
the barriers that hold back the productivity of female
farmers could both enhance gender equality and usher in
broader economic growth. The African Union has declared 2014
to be the 'year of agriculture and food security',
bringing much needed attention to the sector's
potential to transform the continent. This is an opportunity
not only to revitalize the agriculture sector, but to rally
African governments and development organizations to commit
to concrete policy action to redress the inequalities within
the sector, and in so doing to reap greater rewards from
future investments. Show Less -

The purpose of the meeting was to review
the results from the final computations of the global level
purchasing power parities (PPPs) and real expenditures. The
dat... Show More +a review included an assessment of the effect of changes
in methodology between 2005 and 2011, a final review of the
linking methods and the resulting tables of international
comparison program (ICP) 2011 results, and a discussion
regarding the publication of Chinas results. The review
group also discussed issues regarding the use of PPPs for
establishing international poverty lines as affected by the
level differences between the 2005 and 2011 PPPs. There was
also a discussion of how to reconcile benchmark PPPs with
time series PPPs based on gross domestic product (GDP)
growth rates. Show Less -

This non-lending technical assistance
(NLTA) is responding to requests by the National Statistical
Institute of Peru (INEI) and the Ministry of Social
Inclusion (MI... Show More +DIS) to provide technical assistance to
increase the government's capacity to design, monitor,
and evaluate social policies aiming at reducing poverty and
improving social inclusion. The activities during this
fiscal year (FY14) were organized around two broad goals:
(i) validating and improving poverty measurement conducted
by INEI; (ii) strengthening evidence-based decision making
in MIDIS. The Bank and MIDIS teams have been working very
closely with the artistic directors of the campaign to make
sure they understand the concepts to communicate. In FY14,
the team completed the campaign strategy and did several
field visits with the artistic directors to prepare the work. Show Less -

Madagascar has been entirely
unsuccessful in reducing the number of its people that are
poor, or extremely so, in the ten years since 2001, when
poverty was already... Show More + at a very high level. This well-known
conclusion draws on the analysis of three successive rounds
of the national household expenditure surveys (enquete
periodiques aupres des menages, EPM) conducted by the
Madagascar National Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) in
2001, 2005, and 2010. The objective of the analysis in this
report is to document the levels and changes in poverty in
Madagascar, and provide a detailed review of correlates of
poverty and inequality in various dimensions, including
gender, age, the structure of households, and place of
residence. The report is an assessment of past poverty
trends, and while policy implications are highlighted in
many cases, the report is focused mainly on the descriptive,
rather than prescriptive. It is found that the poverty
headcount did not decrease between 2001 and 2005, rising
instead from 71 to 75 percent of the population, rather than
the 68 percent estimated official headcount for 2005. The
methodology is described at length in the report and its annexes. Show Less -

This paper uses long panel survey data
spanning over 20 years to examine the dynamics of
microcredit programs in Bangladesh. With the phenomenal
growth of microfina... Show More +nce institutions representing 30 million
members with over $2 billion of annual disbursement over the
past two decades, it is important to understand the dynamics
of microcredit expansion and its induced impact on household
welfare. A dynamic panel model is used to address a number
of issues, such as whether credit effects are declining over
time, whether market saturation and village diseconomies are
taking place, and whether multiple program membership, which
is rising as a consequence of microcredit expansion, is
harming or benefiting the borrowers. The paper's
results confirm that microcredit programs have continued to
benefit the poor by raising household welfare. The
beneficial effects have also remained higher for female than
male borrowers. There are diseconomies of scale caused by
higher levels of village-level borrowing, especially for
male members. Multiple program membership is also growing
with competition from microfinance institutions, but this
has rather helped raise assets and net worth more than it
has contributed to indebtedness. Show Less -

India's progress in economic and
human development is one of the most significant global
achievements of recent times. Between 2005 and 2010,
India's share of globa... Show More +l gross domestic product (GDP)
increased from 1.8 to 2.7 percent, and 53 million people
were lifted out of poverty. India is home to globally
recognized companies in pharmaceuticals, steel, and space
technologies, and the country is a leader in the use of
information technologies for e-government, and public
service delivery. In line with these transformations, India
is now among the top 10 percentile of fast growing nations
and has become a prominent global voice. Progress on human
development has been remarkable: life expectancy more than
doubled from 31 years in 1947 to 65 years in 2012, and adult
literacy more than quadrupled from 18 percent in 1951 to 74
percent in 2011. While India has made significant progress
in reducing absolute poverty, it is still home to one-third
of the world's poor people. Significant development
challenges remain. Helping India address these challenges is
central to the World Bank Group's goal of reducing
poverty and boosting shared prosperity. Show Less -